Sonoma County Board of Supervisors pledges to safeguard civil rights of immigrants

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The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today pledged to protect the civil rights of the county’s immigrants to the fullest extent provided by the law. 

The Board of Supervisors approved a resolution limiting the use of County funds, personnel and other resources to enforce federal immigration laws. The resolution reaffirms the County’s alignment with state laws adopted by the California Legislature that ensure law enforcement services, schools, health care facilities, courts and other public agencies are accessible to every person in California, regardless of immigration status. 

“Immigrants are valued and integral members of our community, our social fabric and our local economy,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “This resolution makes it clear that County government will uphold the civil rights of undocumented immigrants like we would for any other member of our community.” 

The resolution directs County departments and employees to comply with the California Values Act, the 2017 state law that limits state and local government agencies, including law enforcement, from sharing information about an individual’s immigration status with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that enforces immigration laws. Exceptions in the state law allow law enforcement to provide ICE with information about undocumented immigrants convicted of a serious or violent felony. 

The resolution also reaffirms that County policy is aligned with the statewide Trust Act of 2013, which limits law enforcement’s role in immigration detentions, and the statewide Truth Act of 2016, which provides transparency and oversight of law enforcement communications with ICE. 

“The Board of Supervisors wants all residents of Sonoma County to know that interacting with local government – whether to access benefits, report a crime, file a legal document or any of the countless other ways a resident and government come together – should not put any resident at risk, regardless of immigration status,” the resolution states. 

Specifically, the resolution: 

• Prohibits County agencies and employees from investigating, interrogating or detaining people for immigration enforcement purposes or sharing an individual’s immigration status with ICE, unless required by state or federal law.
• Directs County departments to develop protocols and procedures on how to interact with ICE agents.
• Instructs County staff to place disclosures in County lobbies and websites informing the public how their personal information is used. The Board also directed staff to create a centralized web hub with information and resources for immigrant communities.
• Directs County departments to train employees about current law, trauma-informed care, adverse childhood experiences, cultural proficiency, unconscious bias, diversity/equity/inclusion and belonging, and the values of a multicultural society. 

A PDF of the resolution can be downloaded here. 

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Media Contact: 
Paul Gullixson, Sonoma County Communications Manager 
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org 
(707) 565-3040 
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A 
Santa Rosa, CA 95403